10 Traditional Masks from Around the World

For centuries, masks have held many meanings, sometimes embodying spiritual, mythic, and ancestral powers. From masks made for initiation ceremonies to carnival celebrations, take a closer look at where and when they would be worn around the world.

Though African women rarely wear masks during dances, the mask shown below is unique in that it is worn by members of the Sande Society during public masquerades. The masks of the Sande are known as ‘sowei’, which is the name used to refer to ‘wise women’ of the group. The community has quite a long-standing tradition of wise women, with more political leadership positions being held by women than men.

The Toledo Museum of Art’s catalog copy for the mask states: “The mask fits closely over the head, and the intricate hairstyle, downcast eyes, small mouth, delicate ears, and ringed neck represent ideal feminine beauty.”

Women also feature prominently in the masks of the Oro Efe masquerades of the Yoruba people, located in West Africa in areas of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. This area known as ‘Yorubaland’ hold masquerades called ‘Efe’ during the Gelede festival. The purpose of these festivals, according to art historian Henry John Drewal, “is to acknowledge and celebrate the abilities and strengths of women — particularly mothers, who are seen as life givers.” Along with other objects used in the masquerades, the masks have been associated with qualities of patience and calmness.

The feathery mask below was likely used during funeral ceremonies for the great chiefs of the Kanak, the indigenous people living on the tiny island of New Caledonia, off the coast of Australia in the South Pacific. To this day, New Caledonia is a French territory, and the original purpose of the mask has been lost to the forces of westernization and modernization brought to the islands by colonial administrators and missionaries. According to the curators of the Australian Museum collection where the mask resides, “functions varied between regions and were linked with various spirits, including those of creation, the underwater world of the dead and of traditional money.”

The Sowei and Oro Efe masks can be seen to celebrate women and femininity, while the Komo mask was worn by the Senufo and Bamana peoples of West Africa at male-only societies and fraternities. Typically made up of blacksmiths or other high-ranking members of the community, the Komo and Poro societies control the central functions of government, education, spirituality, and the economy in their culture. Such a mask would be worn by only the most senior members of these exclusive groups.

The masks are said to serve a spiritual function, connecting people with deities and their ancestors. They are also made to be menacing, and you can see one for yourself at the Dallas Museum of Art, where the mask below now calls home.

Close by the Kanak of New Caledonia live the Asmat people of West Papua, New Guinea, who made the mask below. The Asmat used this mask as part of the jipae, which (like the occasions on which the Kanak masks were worn) was a ceremony honoring dead ancestors, which included taking on the persona of those who had passed away. Made from string and strips of leaves from the sago palm, the masks embody the souls of the dead, who are said to depart at the end of the ceremony.

What if you had four faces, and all of them terrifying? Well, this mask, worn by the Betsi or Ntumu group of the Fang peoples of West Africa, aims to do just that — terrify. When Europeans (mostly French colonizers and missionaries) first came to this region of Africa, the Fang thought their strange ways were a result of spirits coming back from the world of the dead. This mask, called a ‘ñgontang’, was seen as a way of warding off the witchcraft practiced by evil spirits.

Another fearsome-looking mask from the depths of Papua New Guinea (this time from the east side of the island) is the Biblié mask. Like many of the African masks we’ve seen, this was used during male initiation ceremonies. Made of clay and pig fat spread over wood, it was meant to resemble the transformed faces of dead ancestors, with its menacing tusks and serrated dog teeth.

This ‘Mukenga’, or ‘elephant’, mask below comes from the south-eastern part of the Congo, which is now known as the Republic of Zaire. Worn by the Kuba peoples, who according to the Dallas Museum of Art are said to be some of the most traditional of all African societies, the mask was meant to pay homage to high-ranking members of secret societies at their funerals. The mask's elaborate decorations corresponded with the wealth and rank of the member they were celebrating, with the cowrie shells (once used as currency) indicating the status of the individual.

This colorful mask comes from Oruro, high in the Bolivian Andes. It was typically worn during carnival in a dance known as the ‘Diablada’, or the ‘Dance of the Devils’. The iconography of the mask — and the dance itself — combines elements of the Spanish colonizers’ Catholicism with aspects of the native Andean gods of the Uru people.

Halfway across the world in Europe, the Korant’s mask is used during very different carnival celebrations, which occur in the fields and on the streets of Slovenia between Candelmas and Ash Wednesday. These masks were part of celebrations heralding the arrival of spring. According to Slovenian folklore, Kurents chase away winter by jumping and making noise.